Ash and Dust
by traviana12
Summary: This new world sucks. People die, but don't stay dead. Aaliyah Montgomery is trying her hardest to lead a group of people, but she is only a teenager. Her group ends up joining with another, where Ali finds a boy and falls in love. What will happen when the person closest to her dies? When she is forced to search for a person who threatens their existence? When she finally cracks?
1. Chapter 1

**_Hey, author here. I took some people from the show that I liked (and places too) but don't expect it to follow the same storyline. Cause it will be different. I don't own any characters (just the ones I made up) so yeah. Most of it will be told by Aaliyah's point of view so if it doesn't say anyone else, assume it's her. ~traviana12_**

* * *

I hand the hand-written card to my mother. "Get well soon" it says, on the front. "I love you mommy" is on the inside. She grasps my hand.

"I love you too sweetheart." She whispers and kisses my hand. "You know that I do and always will. Till death."

"Mom, you can't joke about that anymore!" I exclaim, looking at her pale, bald head.

"Joke about what, hun?" She asks, her blue eyes showing concern.

"Death! Now that you have...the C-word, you are too close to possible death. No more joking!"

"I'm really sorry." She laid back against the pillows and closed her eyes. "I love you." She sounds really quiet.

"I love you mommy." She doesn't move. I listen for a heartbeat, it's beating softly. I kiss her on the head and walk out of the room.

"And the children have never been happier. In other news, there have been more and more reports of people eating other people. Three more cases in Atlanta-" Dad shuts off the TV.

"C'mon, I was watching that!" My twin brother Aaron exclaims.

"It's just bogus. There's no way people are eating people, unless they are cannibals." Dad says, narrowing his brown eyes.

"Puh-leeze. We all know that it's the zombie apocalypse. Duh." Aaron says.

"Aaron, don't be moronic. It's most likely another one of those bath salts incidents. You know, like the one in Florida." Dad replies, the light glinting off of his tan skin.

"Yeah ok. Whatever." Aaron rolls his eyes and stomps up the stairs, then down the hall. When he gets to his room he slams his door.

Dad sighs and pushes his dark hair back. "At least you still have some sense in you, Ali."

"I try. I'm gonna go talk to him."

"Do you think it'll work?"

"He'll listen to me. I'm like him. I get him."

"Alright hun. Good luck."

I turn and walk to Aaron's room. I knock on his door. "Air? You all good?"

He grunts and his mattress squeaks. He unlocks his door. He looks just like a mini dad. See, Aaron and I are twins but we really don't look alike. He looks more like dad, he has tan skin and brown eyes, where I look more like mom, pale, freckly skin and green-blue eyes. But I got dad's black hair (streaked with blue) and Aaron got the hair mom used to have, before chemo took it away. It's kind of a sandy-brown color. "What?"

"Just checking on you. You know, I think you might be right." I say as I walk to his bed and sit down.

"About?" He asks, a lot less angry.

"The walkers." He has a confused look on his face. "Zombies."

"Really!? You agree? We need to prepare. I already started packing." He pointed to the corner of the room, where his baseball bag sat. "It has my bat and some...assorted weapons. You know, knives, my handgun and a couple guns that I took from dads gun rack. And a bunch of ammo."

"So you want me to pack some stuff?"

"Yeah! like your field hockey stuff, knives, guns and such."

"Ok. Why don't you put some water in the freezer, brother."

"That's a great idea! Oh, clothes aren't a huge thing so just bring like one extra outfit."

"Ok Air. You got it."

"You're the best Aaliyah!" Aaron hugs me and smiles. I rub my hand on his head, tousling his hair. He sighs. "Please Ali. I'm not a child." He says, then he scampers out of his room and down the stairs.

I roll my eyes and walk towards my room, right across the hall. Once I get there, I have to keep appearances up for Aaron. I throw my sticks (I have three of them) in my field hockey bag. I grab a blue duffel bag and put in a pair of black shorts and an orange tank top, some socks and some undergarments. I grab my three pocket knives and put them in my field hockey bag. There. That should keep him satisfied. I pull my long hair into a ponytail.

"Ali! Ali!" Aaron yells. I can hear him running up the stairs. He throws open my door. "Here." He shoves some things into my hands. I look down and see that he's gotten my bow and arrows from the garage.

"Aaron! Why did you get these?"

"For a weapon! Duh."

"Geez Aaron. Ok. You're smart."

"Yeah. You know, cause they are quiet and reusable. Oh! And this." He pulls a small black bag from behind him.

"What's this?"

"Open it!"

"Well, ok." I put the bag on my bed and unzip it. I pull out a small black device.

"What-Oh my gosh! You got me a gun?"

Aaron smiles sheepishly. "I got it for you for your 13th birthday, but that's still a couple months away. I figured you might need it before that. You know, cause of the apocalypse."

"Thanks, Air. You're pretty awesome." I hug him. "Is there anything else in this bag?"

"Some ammo. That's it."

"Thank you." I put the gun back in the bag and roll the bag up. I place the bag in my field hockey bag and put everything in the corner of my room. Suddenly, the doorbell rang throughout the house. "Savannah's here." I say and we both run downstairs.

Savannah is our next door neighbor, has been since we were like 3. She is almost the same age as us, except she is already 13. The most accurate description of her would be an awkward badass. She has never been social and she doesn't take crap from anyone. She has problems trusting people, just like me, but as soon as we know that someone is loyal, they have our trust. And if they break it, well, Hell will be unleashed. Savannah is really pretty, she has bright green eyes and long brown hair. She wears a lot of black, but not like an emo. She rocks it out and is, like I said, really pretty.

Savannah and I used to hang out a lot, but that changed when her and my brother started liking each other. She wouldn't come over anymore because she didn't want to look bad in front of Aaron, and he would always disappear when she showed up. Her parents are going on vacation for their twenty year anniversary, so we are letting her stay in our guest room.

When I get to the front door, Savannah and her parents are standing outside. I let them in. Savannah is wearing a gray tank top and blue shorts. They all sit down in the living room. "Dad! They're here!" I yell. My dad comes into the living room and stands behind the couch.

"Thank you again, Dane. This means a lot." Tom says.

"Of course, Tom. I know you guys would do the same if, you know." Dad answers.

"Oh, yes. How is Saydi?" Debbie asks.

"Battling. She's trying to stay strong. She's right in there, if you want to see her. I'm sure she would appreciate the company." Dad says, pointing to the room under the stairs.

"Are you sure, Dane?" Debbie asks.

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead." Dad leads them towards the door and all three of them disappear into the room.

"How are you doing through all of this?" Savannah asks gently.

"The cancer thing? I'm trying to stay strong, but it's really hard. Here, I'll show you where your bedroom is." I lead Savannah up the stairs and down the hallway, past the master bedroom, mine and Aaron's bedrooms, and the bathroom. The guest room is at the very end of the hall. "Here we are."

Savannah puts her clothes in the dresser and her bag on top of it. We get downstairs just in time to see our parents leaving the sick room. Savannah gives her parents a big hug and they leave. Aaron makes a run to the store and brings about three grocery bags up to his room. Suspicious, Savannah and I go up to his room.

"What's all of this, Air?" I ask when we bust into his room.

"Canned food. It lasts the longest. I got ravioli and soup and stuff."

"He's prepping for the apocalypse." I whisper to Savannah.

"Why?" She whispers back. I just shrug in answer.

"Savannah, are you ready for it?" He asks

"For what?" She says.

"The zombie apocalypse." He says.

"Aaron thinks the world is going to be overrun by walkers." I say.

"Hey! You said you agreed."

"Well, I don't know. Why don't you explain everything to Savannah. I have something to do." I run back to my room and put my extra phone chargers in my blue duffel. Hey, even if the apocalypse happens, I want my things. Aaron's intensity has scared me into believing. And hey, it's never bad to be cautious.

"Ali? You ok?" Savannah says as she lightly knocks on the door.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on in."

"What's wrong? You just kinda, ran off." She says as she sits on my bed.

"Oh, uh, I just can't deal with Aaron's crazy ideas right now."

"Oh? So what's that?" She points at the things in the corner.

"Oh, I was just keeping up appearances for Aaron. You know, clothes and weapons and such. But do you believe him?"

"Oh, I don't know. I'd like to believe not but you never know. Especially with all the terrible diseases going around."

"Yeah I guess that makes sense."

"Should I prepare for the impending apocalypse?"

"Haha, I guess. Just get an outfit that you like and put it in this bag."

"What do you have in here?"

"A pair of shorts and an orange tank top. Also my three field hockey sticks and a handgun that Aaron got me for our 13th."

"Cool. Gimme a sec, I'll be right back with something." She runs down the hall, I hear drawers opening and shutting, then footsteps coming back to my room. "Here." She shoves some clothes into my hands.

I put the red skinny jeans, black tank top, leather jacket and some socks into the duffel. "Perfect." I say. "Now he'll believe us. And if it happens then we are prepared."

"Great!" She says.

We go back to Aaron's room, he was done packing his food, and we sat down and talked. We were completely normal teenagers, not worrying about anything. We laughed and had fun. Until-

"Aaron! Aaliyah!" Dad cries, sounding panicked, from downstairs. I glance at the clock, it's almost nine o'clock. Aaron and I look each other in the eye and run downstairs, Savannah on our tails. We rush into the room under the stairs. Dad is sitting in a chair next to the bed, clutching mom's hand, silent tears streaming down his face.

"No!" I whisper, sinking to my knees. Aaron walks over next to dad and puts his hand on dad's shoulder. Dad looks up at him and shakes his head. "Is she, you know." I ask.

"No, but she's close." Dad replies, his voice breaking.

I walk over to mom and grab her hand. I pull it close and kiss it. "Mommy don't leave us." I start silently crying. Mom's eyes flutter open. A trace of a smile plays on her lips.

"Dear, It's my time to go. I love you all. Savannah, you have been like family to us, so don't feel unincluded. We love you. Aaron, I was always fed up with your sci-fi fiction stuff. But now, I wish I had paid closer attention. I hope you will forgive me." She looks at him and he nods. "Good. I love you sweetie. Good luck in the future."

"I love you mom. Thank you." He kisses her and steps back.

"Dane, we argued about many things, but everything was always resolved. Honey I love you and I never kept anything from you. I trusted you with all my heart, and I think that's why our marriage was so good and worked out for as long as it did. I love you and I hope you find someone else who makes you feel wanted."

"No one will ever amount to you, Saydi. I love you, and I will forever and always." Dad leans forward and kisses her sweetly on the lips.

"Now Aaliyah. You are smart and pretty and amazing at what you do. Continue with everything you have started. Make me proud. Continue the legacy of the Montgomery's. Practice your sports and exercise your brain. Make me happy. I love you, baby girl."

"I will mommy. I promise. I'll make you proud." I kiss her on the forehead.

"Good. Great. Now, I can rest." Mom closes her eyes and leans her head back. Her grip on my hand tightens, then releases.

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**_There's chapter one. It'll speed up soon, promise. ~traviana12_**


	2. Chapter 2

I wake up at 6 that next morning. After what happened last night, I went right to my bed and cried myself to sleep. I get out of bed and throw on a pink tank top, some black sweat pants and my too-big half-zip gray sweatshirt and some zebra socks. I go downstairs and see that Aaron is already up, watching the news.

"Anything new, big brother?"

"Not much, baby sister."

Despite everything, we both grin. We've been addressing each other like that every morning for the past few years. He was only born 27 minutes 43 seconds before me, but he was always telling me that he was more mature because he was older. "Is dad up yet?" I ask him.

"Yeah, he went to the store for a coffee. But when I said nothing new was happening, I lied. Guess how many more reports of walkers there has been."

"Um, 4."

"Nah, 37. Can you believe that!? Thirty-seven."

"Wow. That's crazy."

"I know. That's why I got all of dad's guns and ammo in his gun bag. It's up in my room right now. I filled up the jeep this morning and filled an extra gas tank thing full. Oh, and surprise! I filled your wheeler."

I know what you're thinking, he's too young to do that stuff, blah, blah, blah. But his friend's family owns the store and his dad drops off gas at our house if we ever do chores for him. Aaron has been racking up the chores so he's been getting a fair amount of gasoline from the store.

"Thanks brother. Why don't we try to hold our own here though? You know, when and if this apocalypse happens."

"I guess we can try."

"Ok. I'm going to make a run to the store. If Savannah wakes up while I'm gone keep her company."

"Ok Ali. Don't get caught." He winks.

I take my mountain bike out of the garage and start pedaling to the store. It's right down the road. Since Aaron's friend's (Dusty's) dad owns the store, I get let off the hook a bunch more than I should. That doesn't mean I don't get in trouble (my criminal record is a mile long.) I just get in trouble less.

The streets are eerily quiet. I pretend not to notice and park my bike near the curb and jog to the store. I walk in and stroll to the back. I grab a handful of gum packs and shove them in my pockets. I walk to the personal hygiene section and grab a whole bunch of mini Scope mouthwashes and put them in my pockets. I grab a couple more things before deciding to head. I slowly check to see if the cashier is looking. She is too absorbed in her phone to notice anything. I bolt to my bike and speed back to my house.

"Honey, I'm home!" I shout into the living room.

"Ah, the klepto is back!" Aaron laughs.

"Yes, the best of the best returns." I bow and packs of gum fall out of my sweatshirt.

"Your focus today?"

"Good mint breath." I pull out all the gum and mouthwash. "Also, seeing." I pull out the flashlights and many batteries.

"So no matter what you say you are planning for the apocalypse."

"Ok, bro, you caught me. I'll be back."

I run to my room and put the gum and Scope in a plastic bag, tie it, and put it in my duffel. I do the same with the flashlights and batteries. I also put in my hairbrush and a bunch of hair elastics, and a razor and tweezers. Hey, I'm still a girl.

I run downstairs when I hear a knock on the door. Aaron's best friend Dusty stands at the door, dressed in shorts and a tee shirt. He looks a lot like Aaron, just paler. And he's a ginger. He's also the same age as us. Last night Aaron had begged dad to let Dusty over. Good thing he didn't get here earlier, I would've been busted.

We all sit on the couch, bored. Savannah comes down wearing black skinny jeans, a white tanktop and a jean vest. We sit around, watching shows and a couple of movies. Dad doesn't come home till 11am and we all sit around some more. Suddenly, we hear bumping and a crash come from the room under the stairs.

"Dad, did you move mom?" Aaron asks.

"No, I didn't think I needed to." He replies.

"Dad, mom might have turned into a walker." I say, jumping to conclusions.

"A what?"

"A zombie."

"Well I'm going in there." Dad starts walking towards the door.

"No!" We all yell at the same time. I run into the garage and grab four hunting knives.

"Here." I give one to Aaron, Dusty and Savannah. We creep towards the room and see dad flinging open the door.

"Honey! You're up! Air, Ali, she's up! She's not dead." Dad says when he sees mom.

I walk over to the door. Instead of the pale, blue-eyed, beautiful, weak mom that I saw die yesterday, there is a gray, red eyed corpse that looks just like her. "Dad. Back away quickly." I whisper.

But he doesn't listen. He rushes to mom and throws his arms around her, which prompts her to sink her teeth into his neck, ripping through the skin and tearing a chunk out of his neck.

"Dad!" I cry and rush forward, plunging my knife between this beasts' eyes. I pull my knife out of it's head and drop to my knees in front of dad. "I'm sorry." I whisper, and shove my blade into his brain.

I walk out of the room and into the kitchen. I clean my knife and sheath it. I calmly walk to my room, grab everything that was in the corner of, then do the same with Aarons room. I bring all the bags into the living room. "What do we have?" I ask.

I tell Aaron that I am putting weapons in my field hockey bag and clothes in my duffel. I have three full outfits in my bag plus what Savannah and I have on and an extra pair of shorts. I have hygiene stuff and flashlights. In my field hockey bag I have the three sticks, pocket knives and my new pistol. I sling my bow and quiver over my shoulder and stand up.

"I have an extra outfit, plus long sweats and a hoodie. I have my baseball bat. That's all in my baseball bag. In the other bag I have all of dad's guns and ammo from the cabinet, and a whole bunch of canned food and a can opener, also a bunch of waters in a lunchbox." Aaron says.

"Let's get out of here." Savannah says. She laces up a pair of black combat boots. I pull on my blue and white Nike sneakers and Aaron wears his black Reeboks. Just when we are about to leave through the garage, we hear a thud on the front door. The door bursts open and a young girl runs in. I notch an arrow and pull the string back.

"Who are you?" I ask.

The girl turns and yelps, backing up so quickly that she loses her footing. She scrambles to get up and Savannah moves behind her.

"My-my name is Marina. I'm eleven years old." She says shakily. She has long brown hair and dark brown eyes.

"Do you always break into peoples houses?" I question.

"I just wanted to get away from the walkers. They are everywhere. The only reason I got away to get in here is because they were too busy eating my family."

Aaron steps forward. "You can stay with us Marina. We are trying to get away from them too." I sigh and put my arrow back into it's quiver and sling the bow back over my shoulder. I open the door that leads from the kitchen to the garage.

"We need a distraction. Aaron, you take them in the jeep. Get ready to go. Take all the bags and weapons. I'll take my pistol and knife and go on my four-wheeler. I'll distract them and meet you on the highway, headed to Atlanta."

Aaron looks like he wants to say something, but instead he loads the bags into the jeep. I put my pistol and knife into a tool belt and hook the belt around my waste. I hop onto my Honda Fourtrax and start her up. I put my earbuds on and start up my favorite song, Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. I drive out of the garage and into the walker-filled streets. I drive North, towards the store and I watch as Aaron pulls the other way.

I kick my wheeler into fifth gear and fly past the monsters. I sing at the top of my lungs, the walkers attracted to the dying whale sounds that come out of me. Yeah, I'm not a good singer. A whole herd of them is gathered behind me. I take a corner. The streets are empty of other vehicles. Just this morning the world was so normal and now look at it. I whip around corners and fly down roads until I make it to the highway. I see the jeep up ahead and I slow down. I stop right beside it.

"Why are you stopped?" I ask when Aaron rolls down window.

"Well, we ran into Allie. She was on her way out of the city. She says that the city is gone. It belongs to the dead now."

I stare at Allie. She has shoulder length blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. From what I can see of her she is average height and has on a similar outfit to Savannah. After further investigation I find out she is 19, in the city for college and her roommate was infected.

"Where do we go?" Dusty asks from the back seat.

I look around and point. There is a trail off to our right.

"Where does it lead?" Savannah asks.

Aaron and I look at eachother. It leads to our families hunting lodge. We can be safe there. I look at everyone else and smile slightly. "Sanctuary." I breath out.

After almost an hour of off-roading (not too hard with our vehicles) we show up to my families hu-uge hunting lodge. We park in the garage and make our way indoors.

To see four people inhabiting our living room.

I pull out my pistol and aim at one. A girl, definitely older. She wears a tank top and shorts and has a machete at her side. She is thin and has brown hair and eyes.

"Who the fuck are you!" I yell.

She turns, hands raised. "Candy."

"Why the hell are you here!"

"We needed somewhere to go. We were running through the woods and saw this place. The door was open."

"Well, this is my families hunting lodge. If you want to stay, you better listen to me."

"Puh-leeze. I'm 18. I'm not taking orders from a 12 year old."

"Then I guess you better start packing."

She looks at the boy on the couch, a cute guy with blonde hair and brown eyes, wearing all black. They have basically the same face, so they must been related. He nods slightly. "Fine. You win. That's Kyle, my younger brother. He's 15. That's Charlotte, our sister. She's 10. And lastly, that's Kayla, our neighbor. She's 13."

Charlotte has a black shirt, darker jeans and black converse. She has a sword-a katana-strapped to her back. Kayla has brown hair and eyes, a light blue tee-shirt and ripped jeans and a crossbow on her back.

"I'm Aaliyah. That's Aaron, Dusty, Allie, Savannah and Marina." I point to each of them in turn. "Aaron's my brother, the rest are neighbors. Have you guys been upstairs yet?"

Charlotte looks at me, eyes wide, and says "There's an upstairs?"

I chuckle to myself. "Follow me." I run and got my stuff out of the jeep and walk upstairs. There are five bedrooms, all with bunk beds (weirdly perfect, right?). I walk to mine and Aaron's room and claim the top bunk. I put my things in the dresser and stand in the hallway, looking to see how people are pairing up.

Aaron betrayed me for Dusty, so I invite Kayla to join me in my room. Candy and Kyle pair up, then Marina and Charlotte. That left Savannah and Allie, which they seem perfectly fine with.

We all go downstairs. Aaron puts his food in the cabinets and drinks in the fridge. The other people had brought enough food. We were good, looks like for a while.

This is a group I could stay with.

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**_I know it's not great and there isn't much action yet but it will speed up, I swear. ~traviana12_**


End file.
